Cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code words have been generated in both bit serial fashion and bit parallel fashion. In "high" bit rate communications networks it is desirable to generate the CRC code words in parallel fashion. Prior known arrangements for generating the CRC code words in parallel required the use of complex circuit arrangements which were difficult, if at all possible, to realize in usable fashion. This difficulty in implementation arises due to the form of the CRC generator polynomials that are typically employed to generate the CRC code words. In general, the CRC generator polynomials are of the form (1+x).multidot.f(x). The (1+x) factor introduces prohibitive complexity for the prior parallel CRC code word generator arrangements. This is because in the prior arrangements CRC code words were generated by performing division by the entire CRC generator polynomial in one step. Such a division is extremely difficult to realize in a hardware design.